Dear Marblehead School Committee,
I wish to outline a leadership approach, proven to be effective for guiding organizations toward improvement and, eventually, excellence. Effective leaders steer their teams toward a well-defined objective. For high-performing organizations, this involves establishing clear, measurable performance metrics that reflect stakeholders’ expectations. If the Marblehead School Committee has these metrics, I would suggest they become more transparent.
Admittedly, the challenge lies in selecting these parameters. While 10 may be excessive, three would be ideal, striking a balance between comprehensiveness and simplicity. During my review of the Massachusetts state board’s website, I encountered numerous metrics. However, it’s crucial to distill these into the most representative ones that align with the Marblehead community’s consensus.
Achieving unanimity on our school system’s goals is imperative. Without it, reaching our desired outcomes is improbable. Once there is agreement on the performance metrics, identify school systems that have already attained the desired level of performance. While aspiring to match the best performers is natural, setting such a benchmark as the initial target is neither practical nor attainable in the near future. Instead, I propose aiming for the top third percentile, aligning with the chosen performance metrics. This goal is ambitious yet realistic, providing our system with a clear direction for improvement.
The subsequent step involves pinpointing school systems within the lower echelon of the top third and the upper tier of the middle third in Massachusetts. These institutions will serve as benchmarks for comparison and learning. Engaging with a few of these systems could offer valuable insights into their success strategies, while understanding performance metrics such as budget allocation per student, teacher-to-student ratios, and administrative support structures, to name just a few.
Understanding the operational differences between our school system and those we aspire to emulate is the first step toward progress. It allows us to craft actionable plans that drive our system toward the performance levels we seek. Should these plans necessitate a revised budget, the changes can be justified to the stakeholders by presenting data from more successful systems, demonstrating that improvement isn’t solely about increased spending — it’s also about the willingness to embrace new methodologies.
The journey to improvement is not swift — it may span five years or more. Yet, once the initial target is reached, we must ask ourselves: Are we prepared to strive for the top 20%? Organizations committed to continuous improvement never stagnate, they become beacons that attract the best talent.
To those familiar with benchmarking, this strategy will resonate. The adage “We will steal shamelessly from those who are doing it better than us” encapsulates the approach. I do not expect our elected officials to possess specialized educational expertise. However, I do hope you possess the humility to learn from those achieving measurable success. My grandchildren are depending on it.
Charlie Pihokken
Marblehead